exploring locally – london love

Local travel is still the key word for me – having been to different parts of London a lot lately. If you are like me – lucky enough to live near one of the world’s most cosmopolitan cities, then you have endless opportunities to explore new places and events. I can never get tired to London as the city always keeps revealing new sides of itself.

My London is about exploring its many waterways – barges mooring along canals, little riverside strolls, grandeur of river Thames, finding new little fusion eateries and amazing cream teas, sampling foods at Harrods, quirky stores, markets, spotting beautiful historic landmarks and buildings in Belgravia and Knightsbridge.

My London is learning about its long history, slowly changing landscape, amazing cream teas and spotting fashion trends on the road. My London is also about all those famous tourist attractions that locals often miss: London Bridge, Buckingham Palace, Westminster Abbey, London Zoo and the London Eye – and the latest one, Europe’s tallest building, the Shard, which I am yet to visit (and if you’re visiting London for longer, the Shard also has London’s latest luxury hotel from one of my favourite hotel groups: The Shangri-La London).

It’s been nearly 30 years since I visited Madame Tussaud’s and I think it’s time I show that place to the next generation and we’ll see how many not-so-recent figures we can recognize…and view over London, maybe reaching pretty close to our Kentish home is also well overdue. Add there the world’s largest museum, Victoria & Albert (or just V&A) and our family must-visit-in-London -list already covers the first school holiday week with activities!

My old N1 post code in London – Islington – is full of surprises from antique stores and cool weekend stalls of river walks and some pretty amazing food. Oh those memories… London is a place so many of us travellers have visited, but rarely experienced outside the obvious – be it a West End musical, football match in Wembley or a pint near Piccadilly Circus.

I would love to hear now what your favourite spots and secret tips are for London?

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12 Responses to "exploring locally – london love"

Oh, I love London so much and your photos are beautiful – particularly the first one – I can imagine living there! I have only been to London three times and haven’t seen much beyond the famous tourist attractions but my husband was lucky enough to live there for a year as a student at the London School of Economics. We are starting to plan a return trip for our spring break next year and I think we’ll be able to start venturing out into some of the city’s great neighbourhoods but we’ll still have to make time for seeing West End shows. My older daughter starts university in the fall and she’s already planning to do her third year abroad in London so I’m sure she won’t mind if I visit often!! 😉

Thank you Lisa. If you come by we should definitely meet – for a cream tea of course! I can never haec enough of West End shows and have just been looking into what to see next, besides the Book of Mormon, which is a must see show at the moment!

Lovely, lovely photos of London! I adore this city and feel so lucky to have lived here for the past year. N1 is a fab postcode – there is always more to discover. I spend quite a lot of time in Bloomsbury, full of quirky bookshops and literary sites, and up around the Hampstead Heath, the one place in London where I feel like I get away from the city for a bit.
Thanks for sharing your lovely photos. 🙂

Since you are talking about waterways…one of my favorite London things to do is take the boat to Greenwich – get fabulous views of the Tower Bridge in both directions, plus there are tons of fun things to do there like the observatory, the Maritime Museum, and the market.

I love Islington too – when we lived in London, we were in Stoke Newington nearby.

That’s a great idea Mara, as our train goes to London Bridge and I think the boats to Greenwich depart nearby. That maritime Museum looks gorgeous from the outside. I also remember walking to Stoke Newington when we lived in London – really pretty houses there!